Going for the Gold

We got two pieces of exciting news this past week--I'm not sure how much more my heart can stand! They both pertain to Darcy and I can't say that I am surprised, but I am oh-so-very pleased!

First, she was notified that she won the ACSI District Math Olympics event and she is now heading to the Area competition in Dallas in March!!! Okay, so I guess I'm a little surprised. I mean, WOW! I just didn't see that coming! There will be a special joint chapel assembly on Tuesday in which all the school winners who went on to compete in the district event will be awarded ribbons, so that means both Darcy and Peyton will be recognized for their efforts! I'm appreciative that Peyton will be singled out, though she is not at all upset that she didn't advance, nor is she jealous that Darcy did. That's just Peyton.

The second piece of news came to us on Friday when Darcy brought home an envelope addressed to Randy and myself that contained a letter. It appears that she is in the top 5% of students in her grade level nationwide, so she has been "identified as one of a select group of students qualified to participate in the 4th/5th Grade Talent Search sponsored by the Duke University Talent Identification Program." If I hadn't read the words "Duke University," I would have thought she was being asked to audition for Star Search or something! From their website: "Since 1980, the Duke Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) has been a world leader in identifying academically talented students and providing innovative programs to support the development of their optimal potential." So it sounds like it's just a gifted program taken to the next level! What blows me away more than anything is how nonchalant Darcy is about all the accolades--which is how it should be, of course. I'M the one who needs to chill!
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Here are some photos from Darcy's basketball game today:

Dribbling down the court


Pass-off to Julia

Becca has a close encounter with the ball

You might need to click on this one to enlarge it, but that's Darcy's hand grabbing the ball from Ashlyn

Enlarge this one too--it looks like Darcy is thinking, "What is THAT on her shoe?!"

Guarding Atley--they were having entirely too much fun!

Look at little Darcy next to Becca but especially Gabrielle!

The guy in the middle of the huddle who is most likely a coach was the ref today, and he didn't hesitate to call the girls for traveling, double-dribbling and other rule violations. In short, they learned how to play the game! Consequently, the game looked altogether different today in that it was a low-scoring affair, but Darcy's team won again by a score of something like 28-12. The Mystics are 2-0,, baby!